By Carmen Lebar
Content warning: racism, homophobia, pandemics, death, ableism, classism, suicide
To Paradise is Hanya Yanagihara’s newest novel since her massively popular A Little Life. The novel centres around three centuries of an alternate version of America, taking place mainly in New York City and following characters who are all unknowingly connected. It explores many difficult subject matters such as generational trauma, pandemics, classism, and much more. Split into three sections for the three centuries, a lot is explored in this novel. I found the overall novel was enjoyable, but I think it especially excelled in its final section.
What I enjoyed most about To Paradise was Yanagihara’s risk-taking when it came to genre-bending. The novel blends together historical and science fiction, first person and third person narration, and many other literary elements you wouldn’t expect in one novel. For example, in the first section, set in the late 1800s, we see a man deciding whether to marry the man he loves or a man who will give him status and security. In the third section, set in 2093, we see a world ravaged by pandemics, and New York City being heavily structured by regulations. (These are two very contrasting genres combined to tell one story.) With these various literary elements, Yanagihara can ask hard-hitting questions about humanity. What does it mean to be human? Who is accepted in this world, and who is forced into the margins? All of this is in the forefront of To Paradise.
Every character in this novel is searching for just that— paradise. And in the world that Yanagihara builds, it might not be so easy. There are a lot of harrowing events that occur in all three sections of the novel that make it exceptionally hard for these characters to reach a place where they belong or are at peace. I found it interesting to see how these characters cope and navigate the world they were born in, and how their actions ultimately influence the generations after them. We see characters from previous sections—100 years prior—help form the lives of the next section. However, these time separations sometimes were disadvantageous to the story.
My main critique of this novel was how disjointed it felt. Since the novel spans over 700 pages and is divided into three sections, it felt like I was reading three separate novels in a trilogy. I found the final section to be the most impactful and provocative, yet it needed the first two parts to make sense of what was happening. There were moments in the first two sections that I felt were too long, but I believe that the build-up to the final section is what makes it all worth it. The final section of this novel was my favourite part and brought up many important questions that our society faces today—like how to prevent the next pandemic.
To Paradise is an ambitious novel by Hanya Yanagihara that has many elements of different genres that will satisfy many readers, especially mood readers. It’s an introspective look into our world today through three alternate timelines—all eerily mimicking the problems in our reality. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes multiple genres, but also anyone who wants to venture out of their comfort genres. And of course, if you like Yanagihara’s novels, you’ll love this new risk-taking novel that will hopefully help you define what paradise is to you.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Please note that Carmen is employed with Penguin Random House Canada but all opinions are her own.